In Tolkien's Shire, the pipe-weed worth talking about came from the Southfarthing, and the variety that made the region's reputation was Longbottom Leaf. Corporate Ladder Brewing Company has put the name on a West Coast IPA.
Long Bottom Leaf pours at 7 percent on Citra Dynaboost, Eggers Riwaka and New Zealand Cascade. It arrives Saturday, September 12, and joins Nazgul, the 40-month barrel-aged barleywine announced earlier this month, on the lineup for the brewery's "There and Back Again" event.
Two of those three hops come from New Zealand, which is the part worth slowing down on. Riwaka is the scarce one. It is a New Zealand variety known for concentrated grapefruit and lime aromatics, and tight supply keeps it out of reach for a lot of breweries most years.
New Zealand Cascade is the quieter trick. Cascade is the hop that defined American West Coast IPA in the first place, all pine and grapefruit out of Yakima. Growing the same variety in different soil and a different climate shifts what ends up in the cone, so the New Zealand version does not read quite the same as its American parent. Using it in a West Coast IPA puts a familiar hop in an unfamiliar accent.
Citra Dynaboost rounds out the bill. It is the flowable Citra extract Corporate Ladder has leaned on across several recent releases, dosed into the whirlpool for aroma without adding more plant matter to the tank.
The brewery describes the result as "dank, resinous, bright + hop forward," and frames it as "a properly hop forward provision for anyone making the long journey to There and Back Again." A dry, resinous West Coast IPA would sit well alongside something salty and fried, or a sharp cheddar, where the bitterness has something to push against.
Getting one
Long Bottom Leaf goes on at noon on September 12, at the Palmetto beer garden. The event runs to 11 p.m. and is the brewery's first Lord of the Rings release, with themed beers and cookies from Heaven's Oven alongside.
The beer pours on draft that day, with a limited number of 16 ounce four-packs to go while supplies last. Corporate Ladder says all beers at the event are first come, first served, and expects some to sell out.
Source & Editorial
JollyPint independently prepares release articles using information published by breweries through newsletters, websites, and other official public communications. Brewery-supplied descriptions and tasting notes are reported as provided, while editorial context is added by JollyPint.